The Good News of the Kingdom
With Healing in His Hands. He laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.
Search me through and through, O Lord. Explore my sin-bruised being and bind up my injuries (whether gained through fault or folly). Continue »
He Does This for Me!
A Wealth of Goodness in God's Word.
St. Gregory Nazianzen, a fourth-century theologian and Father of the Church, urges us to empty ourselves, as Jesus did. How else will we have room for the “wealth of goodness” God offers us? Continue »
The Birth of Jesus: Luke 2:1-20
In the Words of St. Ignatius
"Only one person has ever been able to choose where and how to be born—Jesus, the Son of God, who existed before coming into this world." Continue »
Alone with Christ
Even loneliness can be a gift.
The Christmas countdown is on, and people are shopping, planning festive menus, and merrily dashing about. But the season can wear a different face for those of us who live alone—who haven’t yet married (or fear we might never), who have aged and watched our parents die, or who live far from our folks and siblings. Continue »
God’s Extraordinary Plan
The genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:1-17).
While the inclusion of Jesus’ genealogy may seem tedious to us today, it establishes Jesus’ place within the Jewish tradition and his continuity with great Old Testament figures. Continue »
Christmas in Jail
A Strange Place to Find Peace on Earth
When the Mexican teenager walked into the county jail, he was understandably nervous. The nineteen-year-old, baby-faced Hispanic youth had never been in jail before and he had no idea what to expect. Continue »
Simple Staircase
Isaiah 30:21
When you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." —Isaiah 30:21. Continue »
Forty-five Years and Counting
The Importance of the Second Vatican Council
Forty-five years is a long time in a person's life, but not necessarily in the life of the church. Consider, for example, that it took well over a century for the reforms of the Council of Trent to take hold. Continue »
If a Brother Has Nothing to Wear
UNESCO International Day for Tolerance
If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. (James 2:15-17) Continue »
Dedication of the St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome
Everything will live where the river goes. (Ezekiel 47:9)
Today we celebrate the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran. This building is the oldest and ranks the first among the four great basilicas in Rome (along with St. Peter's, St. Paul's, and St. Mary Major). It was donated to the church by the Emperor Constantine in 311, and since then it has been revered as the mother church of cathedrals everywhere. Continue »